Friday News And Views

 Double Posting Of Trans Iowa Stories For This Weekend:

Last weekend a Trans Iowa Series post was scheduled but another one was inadvertently scheduled to drop at the same time. This caused a technical issue which I could not resolve, so I ended up pushing both posts back a week.

That mistake is on me, and to the fans and readers of the series, I apologize. 

The good news is that both of those posts will appear this Sunday, one following a little after the other time-wise. They will appear as originally intended also, so you won't be missing a thing that I originally formatted for you to see. 

So, that's a brief note, for those who care, about what happened to last week's 'Trans Iowa Stories' post and what to look forward to for this Sunday. Now with that, I should be back on track and hopefully there will be one post for each of the following Sundays for the remainder of the year. Look for the series to wrap up sometime early in 2022. 

Rides Requiring Proof Of Vaccination:

Recently the news that the Mid-South was requiring proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID test, to get into their 2022 event spread amongst the gravel community. Now word is out that a smaller event out in Vermont organized by the group that puts on the well known Rasputitsa event is also going the proof of vax route. 

While the "Grateful" isn't a big nationally known event, the fact that the organizers are pursuing the proof of vax/negative test route seems to point to a trend in the gravel event scene. It also seems to be consistent with many concerts. sporting events, and with what some businesses are doing. 

Andy and I speculated about this on the podcast recording this week and my take is that this is probably being driven by three elements. 1- A Sense of Social Responsibility where promoters feel compelled to protect and care for their riders in the best way they can. 2 - Legal Ramifications where the possibility that being sued over COVID transmissions, or deaths/health issues may loom over an event, especially when that event is charging a healthy entry fee. 3 - Insurance requirements where it may be possible that municipalities and/or event insurance providers are leveraging event promoters to require proofs of vaccination to hold an event under their insurance/oversight. 

Now, you may have issues with the whole proof of vax/testing thing, and that is a completely valid discussion and far too big a deal for this column. I'll just say this- you don't have to go participate in any events, much less those that require proofs of vax/negative COVID tests. You could organize your own rides. You are free to ride how you want to ride. 

That's a very important thing to remember in all of this. 

The Whisky Parts Co. Spanos Bar

Big Week At Riding Gravel:

The bits and baubles came rolling in over the past week for testing and review on RidingGravel.com. (See the Standard Disclaimer Page here)

Amongst the products that were received are some unusual things. How about some woven cloth bar tape? No.....not the traditional type. This is quite a bit different stuff from Grepp. They claim it is reusable, washable, and that it has superior grip properties over traditional tapes. 

Then there is the American Classic tire, the Wentworth, which I purchased with my own money, by the way, and will be checking out here and on Riding Gravel. 

Then there is the Topeak Gravel Gear Bag, which is not maybe what you think it is. This is an organizer with tools and spaces for tubes and things which you strap to you frame for the rare case that you may need to repair a tire in the field. 

Finally, there is the Whisky Parts Co. Spano Bar, (pictured) which is a carbon fiber drop bar with some unique features. It has flattened tops, a squished profile for the bar in the drops, and a very short reach and drop. 

So, I've spent the week getting all these things set up and checked over for longer rides to come soon. Most of the blurbs I write will be over at Riding Gravel, but you'll probably see this stuff in images and mentions over the next several weeks.

A newMTB trail system is planned near Copper Creek in Des Moines.

New Mountain Bike Trails In The DSM;

Recently, AXIOS Des Moines reported that a new mountain bike park is set to be implemented which would connect Des Moines and the Pleasant Hill areas. 50 acres of undeveloped land have been purchased for the project which will include an area to buffer rain run off to help prevent flooding and improve water quality in the area. 

The park, named the Copper Creek MTB Park, is envisioned as a way to satisfy recreational cyclist who have been using local trails at an ever increasing rate. Plus, this should draw more tourism to the area due to the other local cycling attractions and Iowa's dearth of public lands devoted to off-pavement cycling.

For more details on the project see this link.

NOTE- I'll have a missive on the UCI/Gravel World Championships and series for tomorrow. Otherwise, that's a wrap for this week! Enjoy your weekend and get some riding in!

Friday News And Views

 Double Posting Of Trans Iowa Stories For This Weekend:

Last weekend a Trans Iowa Series post was scheduled but another one was inadvertently scheduled to drop at the same time. This caused a technical issue which I could not resolve, so I ended up pushing both posts back a week.

That mistake is on me, and to the fans and readers of the series, I apologize. 

The good news is that both of those posts will appear this Sunday, one following a little after the other time-wise. They will appear as originally intended also, so you won't be missing a thing that I originally formatted for you to see. 

So, that's a brief note, for those who care, about what happened to last week's 'Trans Iowa Stories' post and what to look forward to for this Sunday. Now with that, I should be back on track and hopefully there will be one post for each of the following Sundays for the remainder of the year. Look for the series to wrap up sometime early in 2022. 

Rides Requiring Proof Of Vaccination:

Recently the news that the Mid-South was requiring proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID test, to get into their 2022 event spread amongst the gravel community. Now word is out that a smaller event out in Vermont organized by the group that puts on the well known Rasputitsa event is also going the proof of vax route. 

While the "Grateful" isn't a big nationally known event, the fact that the organizers are pursuing the proof of vax/negative test route seems to point to a trend in the gravel event scene. It also seems to be consistent with many concerts. sporting events, and with what some businesses are doing. 

Andy and I speculated about this on the podcast recording this week and my take is that this is probably being driven by three elements. 1- A Sense of Social Responsibility where promoters feel compelled to protect and care for their riders in the best way they can. 2 - Legal Ramifications where the possibility that being sued over COVID transmissions, or deaths/health issues may loom over an event, especially when that event is charging a healthy entry fee. 3 - Insurance requirements where it may be possible that municipalities and/or event insurance providers are leveraging event promoters to require proofs of vaccination to hold an event under their insurance/oversight. 

Now, you may have issues with the whole proof of vax/testing thing, and that is a completely valid discussion and far too big a deal for this column. I'll just say this- you don't have to go participate in any events, much less those that require proofs of vax/negative COVID tests. You could organize your own rides. You are free to ride how you want to ride. 

That's a very important thing to remember in all of this. 

The Whisky Parts Co. Spanos Bar

Big Week At Riding Gravel:

The bits and baubles came rolling in over the past week for testing and review on RidingGravel.com. (See the Standard Disclaimer Page here)

Amongst the products that were received are some unusual things. How about some woven cloth bar tape? No.....not the traditional type. This is quite a bit different stuff from Grepp. They claim it is reusable, washable, and that it has superior grip properties over traditional tapes. 

Then there is the American Classic tire, the Wentworth, which I purchased with my own money, by the way, and will be checking out here and on Riding Gravel. 

Then there is the Topeak Gravel Gear Bag, which is not maybe what you think it is. This is an organizer with tools and spaces for tubes and things which you strap to you frame for the rare case that you may need to repair a tire in the field. 

Finally, there is the Whisky Parts Co. Spano Bar, (pictured) which is a carbon fiber drop bar with some unique features. It has flattened tops, a squished profile for the bar in the drops, and a very short reach and drop. 

So, I've spent the week getting all these things set up and checked over for longer rides to come soon. Most of the blurbs I write will be over at Riding Gravel, but you'll probably see this stuff in images and mentions over the next several weeks.

A newMTB trail system is planned near Copper Creek in Des Moines.

New Mountain Bike Trails In The DSM;

Recently, AXIOS Des Moines reported that a new mountain bike park is set to be implemented which would connect Des Moines and the Pleasant Hill areas. 50 acres of undeveloped land have been purchased for the project which will include an area to buffer rain run off to help prevent flooding and improve water quality in the area. 

The park, named the Copper Creek MTB Park, is envisioned as a way to satisfy recreational cyclist who have been using local trails at an ever increasing rate. Plus, this should draw more tourism to the area due to the other local cycling attractions and Iowa's dearth of public lands devoted to off-pavement cycling.

For more details on the project see this link.

NOTE- I'll have a missive on the UCI/Gravel World Championships and series for tomorrow. Otherwise, that's a wrap for this week! Enjoy your weekend and get some riding in!

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part Four

Headed North to end this loop.

 With the end of the Level B dirt road section on 110th, I was now taking a right hand turn to go North to finish off circumnavigating Black Hawk County.  This road turned into Grundy Road, the Black Hawk County border, within about a mile. So it would be straight up this for thirteen miles before I would turn left on Ridgeway. 

I tried to count off ten miles to get me to my first rest stop, but with a few sections not having gravel crossings at every mile, and with Black Hawk Creek cutting across my path, I lost count and I ended up going to a point seven miles up the road and resting by the bridge. Then I got back on and saw something that gave me a bit of concern. A "Road Closed Ahead" sign!

I didn't come all this way to be thwarted by a road being out!

 

This was about as bad as it got, so I made it through.

I decided to forge ahead and see if I could finagle my way around or through whatever it was that was going on out here. I then vaguely recalled that some development for a warehouse or something was happening out this way, but I don't recall the details anymore. Whatever! I made it through, although it looks as though we stand to lose several miles of gravel due to whatever is happening out there. 

Now I was at Ridgeway, a busy section of paved road due to its connections and proximity to HWY20, and I had pretty much run out of gas again. I needed a rest stop, but not at that insanely busy corner with cars and trucks rushing by. I needed to go one mile West to take in the 'notch' in Black Hawk County's border with Grundy County. Then I rode about a half mile North and took another break. My legs were shot by this point. Resting helped, but after six to seven miles, I felt my legs screaming and they were weak. So, another six or so miles later, I stopped near the intersection with Beaver Valley Road. 

Of course, the gravel was unrelenting toward the end.

I was having to stop more than I wanted to, and the temptation to take a nap was overwhelming, but I didn't do that. I resisted as best I could. I had come this far and I was going to push through, no matter what. Eating some pretzels didn't seem to help at this juncture. Water wasn't a concern. I had plenty right up until the last miles. Fortunately, I never cramped, but I was tired. Really tired! 

And even though I was stopping more, I still had 'time in the bank' too. I was going to probably come in well ahead of 5:00pm, so I could take my time here and just do what I could in smaller chunks. It was tough to accept that I had so few miles to knock out but I did not have the energy to attack it and knock them out in one sitting anymore.

Cows at pasture.

Getting close now! That's the water tower for Waverly, Iowa off in the distance.

At one point,after dragging myself off the grassy ditch, I saw two cyclists approach me on fat bikes. I gave a wave and they returned it, but they turned to head East down some pavement and never did go by me. Probably a good thing. I was not in any condition for cheery conversations just then!

Off up another hill and now through Finchford, which seemed desolate. I had to stop for a 'nature break' on the West Fork road, but soon I was off again and up into Bremer County as I had to navigate around the Shell Rock River. I reached a corner, just down from a picturesque farm, and threw myself into the grass. I was spent. Down the road, at the farm, a dog was going berserk because of my presence. 

Finally I said out loud to the dog,(but of course, the dog could not hear me), "Okay, okay! I'm going to move on!", as if this dog was urging me on to finish. I actually trudged up the road about a quarter of a mile by foot, pushing my bicycle. I figured moving was better than sitting, or worse, sleeping. Finally I shook myself to my senses thinking that it was madness to walk when I had a perfectly good biccyle to ride. So, I mounted up.

Crossing the Shell Rock River- almost done!

Crossing the Cedar River and to the finish!

There was something that happened right then. I have heard it described as 'the horse smelling the barn'. The sense that I was almost there conjured up every last bit of power I had and I completed the ride without stopping from that point. It didn't even really hurt that much!

I rolled in with a time of ten hours, twenty minutes for the 112.1 mile route. The circumnavigation of Black Hawk County was complete! It was ten after four in the afternoon. (Note- I started at 5:50am) So, I beat my goal and despite a not very pretty end, I was finished. 

I know that is not very 'fast' as racers could probably do this route in far less than ten hours, but that wasn't the point. I was not out for a race. I was out for the challenge and the idea of riding 'around' the county by bicycle. Did it live up to my 'death ride' ideals? Totally. I felt completely 100% spent afterward. So, in terms of my goals and desires for this ride, it was 100% success. 

Thank you for putting up with this tale this week. Tomorrow I return with my traditional 'FN&V'.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part Four

Headed North to end this loop.

 With the end of the Level B dirt road section on 110th, I was now taking a right hand turn to go North to finish off circumnavigating Black Hawk County.  This road turned into Grundy Road, the Black Hawk County border, within about a mile. So it would be straight up this for thirteen miles before I would turn left on Ridgeway. 

I tried to count off ten miles to get me to my first rest stop, but with a few sections not having gravel crossings at every mile, and with Black Hawk Creek cutting across my path, I lost count and I ended up going to a point seven miles up the road and resting by the bridge. Then I got back on and saw something that gave me a bit of concern. A "Road Closed Ahead" sign!

I didn't come all this way to be thwarted by a road being out!

 

This was about as bad as it got, so I made it through.

I decided to forge ahead and see if I could finagle my way around or through whatever it was that was going on out here. I then vaguely recalled that some development for a warehouse or something was happening out this way, but I don't recall the details anymore. Whatever! I made it through, although it looks as though we stand to lose several miles of gravel due to whatever is happening out there. 

Now I was at Ridgeway, a busy section of paved road due to its connections and proximity to HWY20, and I had pretty much run out of gas again. I needed a rest stop, but not at that insanely busy corner with cars and trucks rushing by. I needed to go one mile West to take in the 'notch' in Black Hawk County's border with Grundy County. Then I rode about a half mile North and took another break. My legs were shot by this point. Resting helped, but after six to seven miles, I felt my legs screaming and they were weak. So, another six or so miles later, I stopped near the intersection with Beaver Valley Road. 

Of course, the gravel was unrelenting toward the end.

I was having to stop more than I wanted to, and the temptation to take a nap was overwhelming, but I didn't do that. I resisted as best I could. I had come this far and I was going to push through, no matter what. Eating some pretzels didn't seem to help at this juncture. Water wasn't a concern. I had plenty right up until the last miles. Fortunately, I never cramped, but I was tired. Really tired! 

And even though I was stopping more, I still had 'time in the bank' too. I was going to probably come in well ahead of 5:00pm, so I could take my time here and just do what I could in smaller chunks. It was tough to accept that I had so few miles to knock out but I did not have the energy to attack it and knock them out in one sitting anymore.

Cows at pasture.

Getting close now! That's the water tower for Waverly, Iowa off in the distance.

At one point,after dragging myself off the grassy ditch, I saw two cyclists approach me on fat bikes. I gave a wave and they returned it, but they turned to head East down some pavement and never did go by me. Probably a good thing. I was not in any condition for cheery conversations just then!

Off up another hill and now through Finchford, which seemed desolate. I had to stop for a 'nature break' on the West Fork road, but soon I was off again and up into Bremer County as I had to navigate around the Shell Rock River. I reached a corner, just down from a picturesque farm, and threw myself into the grass. I was spent. Down the road, at the farm, a dog was going berserk because of my presence. 

Finally I said out loud to the dog,(but of course, the dog could not hear me), "Okay, okay! I'm going to move on!", as if this dog was urging me on to finish. I actually trudged up the road about a quarter of a mile by foot, pushing my bicycle. I figured moving was better than sitting, or worse, sleeping. Finally I shook myself to my senses thinking that it was madness to walk when I had a perfectly good biccyle to ride. So, I mounted up.

Crossing the Shell Rock River- almost done!

Crossing the Cedar River and to the finish!

There was something that happened right then. I have heard it described as 'the horse smelling the barn'. The sense that I was almost there conjured up every last bit of power I had and I completed the ride without stopping from that point. It didn't even really hurt that much!

I rolled in with a time of ten hours, twenty minutes for the 112.1 mile route. The circumnavigation of Black Hawk County was complete! It was ten after four in the afternoon. (Note- I started at 5:50am) So, I beat my goal and despite a not very pretty end, I was finished. 

I know that is not very 'fast' as racers could probably do this route in far less than ten hours, but that wasn't the point. I was not out for a race. I was out for the challenge and the idea of riding 'around' the county by bicycle. Did it live up to my 'death ride' ideals? Totally. I felt completely 100% spent afterward. So, in terms of my goals and desires for this ride, it was 100% success. 

Thank you for putting up with this tale this week. Tomorrow I return with my traditional 'FN&V'.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 3

A field of harvested corn off Mc Chane Road.

Now I was headed, mostly, West as the North and East sides of Black Hawk County had been traversed. I decided on the 'North' route option instead of the South one to get from Black Hawk/Buchanan Road to La Porte City. The two options were similar, but the North route had .3m more gravel and was 1.3m shorter in distance overall. The main thing for me was the route staying inside Black Hawk County instead of getting into Buchanan and Benton Counties. 

I rolled into La Porte with 55 miles under my wheels at 10:30am. Pretty good time and an hour in the bank against my time limitation of 5:00pm. I decided not to go to the convenience store and instead I stopped at the gazebo on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail to rest and swap out clothing. 

By this time it was pretty warm, and a vest wasn't needed. I took that off and rolled it up and stowed it in the frame bag. Then I sat down to munch another half of a PB&J along with a few Dot's pretzel sticks and water. Meanwhile a group of cyclists came up the CVNT and rolled into the gazebo where I was sitting. These were recreational cyclists out for fun. Some of them recognized me as that "legendary gravel guy". I retorted back saying, "Well, I am either legendary or an idiot. One or the other!". This brought a round of "Oh no! You aren't an idiot!", until one of them piped up and said, "Maybe you are just a legendary idiot". 

Fair enough. 

All in good jest there, no offense taken or given. I then packed up my stuff, popped on my helmet, and headed off to hit up Reinbeck Road and a big push Westward. The Sun was riding high now, and the wind, which had come up before I started going West, was out of the Southeast. So it was a quartering tailwind. That was nice! 

Head West. Looking up Reinbeck Road.

 

Some bridge construction on Kimball Avenue near the intersection with Reinbeck Road.

Unfortunately Reinbeck Road was a complete mess of fresh, deep gravel. It was as bad as it was when I started the ride back near Janesville. The deep gravel was taxing my legs and the heat was getting hotter. I also had been distracted by the group back in La Porte and I had forgotten to take some ibuprofen and electrolyte tablets I meant to take. The ibuprofen to deaden my left shoulder pain, brought on by the rough, deep gravel, and the electrolyte tabs because I was sweating a lot by this point into the ride. 

I knew there was a good place to stop at the intersection of Reinbeck Road and Ansborough Road. That's where I stopped and downed the pills and took a bit of a rest from the hard pedaling through all the fresh gravel. Once I left that spot the gravel let up a bit and it was more typical roadway for several miles, which I welcomed. Now I was getting into the Southwestern corner of my route. Here I had to make a detour into Tama County so as to avoid some paved roads. This allowed for a trek through the three straight miles of Level B Road on 110th. 

 A field harvested and worked up already- and there is the rig doing the work off in the distance!

Near to the end of the three miles of Level B Road on 110th in Tama County.

The plan was to stop and eat my last half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich on one of those three miles of dirt. I also ended up taking off my bandana from my head and my Sun-sleeves. It was beastly hot by this point. Like Summer-time, really hot! Worse than Gravel Worlds had been this year. I didn't bother to look at my phone to check the weather then, but later on I found out it had reached the 90's! From 40° to over 90°! No wonder I was cooking! What a wild swing in temperatures. 

But the good news was that I had reached this end of the course by noon. I had 35 miles to go and five hours to get it done before my time limit! I must have been pushing it really hard on Reinbeck Road and not realized how hard I was going. I had bagged another 30 minutes since leaving La Porte City. Crazy! No wonder I felt cooked.

So, I came up with a plan. I needed to break this down into chunks. I decided I would go ten miles and rest. That meant I would have three chances to stop before the end. Okay, let's put this to bed then! 

Next: Part four, and the final chapter to the GTDR/ToBHC story.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 3

A field of harvested corn off Mc Chane Road.

Now I was headed, mostly, West as the North and East sides of Black Hawk County had been traversed. I decided on the 'North' route option instead of the South one to get from Black Hawk/Buchanan Road to La Porte City. The two options were similar, but the North route had .3m more gravel and was 1.3m shorter in distance overall. The main thing for me was the route staying inside Black Hawk County instead of getting into Buchanan and Benton Counties. 

I rolled into La Porte with 55 miles under my wheels at 10:30am. Pretty good time and an hour in the bank against my time limitation of 5:00pm. I decided not to go to the convenience store and instead I stopped at the gazebo on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail to rest and swap out clothing. 

By this time it was pretty warm, and a vest wasn't needed. I took that off and rolled it up and stowed it in the frame bag. Then I sat down to munch another half of a PB&J along with a few Dot's pretzel sticks and water. Meanwhile a group of cyclists came up the CVNT and rolled into the gazebo where I was sitting. These were recreational cyclists out for fun. Some of them recognized me as that "legendary gravel guy". I retorted back saying, "Well, I am either legendary or an idiot. One or the other!". This brought a round of "Oh no! You aren't an idiot!", until one of them piped up and said, "Maybe you are just a legendary idiot". 

Fair enough. 

All in good jest there, no offense taken or given. I then packed up my stuff, popped on my helmet, and headed off to hit up Reinbeck Road and a big push Westward. The Sun was riding high now, and the wind, which had come up before I started going West, was out of the Southeast. So it was a quartering tailwind. That was nice! 

Head West. Looking up Reinbeck Road.

 

Some bridge construction on Kimball Avenue near the intersection with Reinbeck Road.

Unfortunately Reinbeck Road was a complete mess of fresh, deep gravel. It was as bad as it was when I started the ride back near Janesville. The deep gravel was taxing my legs and the heat was getting hotter. I also had been distracted by the group back in La Porte and I had forgotten to take some ibuprofen and electrolyte tablets I meant to take. The ibuprofen to deaden my left shoulder pain, brought on by the rough, deep gravel, and the electrolyte tabs because I was sweating a lot by this point into the ride. 

I knew there was a good place to stop at the intersection of Reinbeck Road and Ansborough Road. That's where I stopped and downed the pills and took a bit of a rest from the hard pedaling through all the fresh gravel. Once I left that spot the gravel let up a bit and it was more typical roadway for several miles, which I welcomed. Now I was getting into the Southwestern corner of my route. Here I had to make a detour into Tama County so as to avoid some paved roads. This allowed for a trek through the three straight miles of Level B Road on 110th. 

 A field harvested and worked up already- and there is the rig doing the work off in the distance!

Near to the end of the three miles of Level B Road on 110th in Tama County.

The plan was to stop and eat my last half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich on one of those three miles of dirt. I also ended up taking off my bandana from my head and my Sun-sleeves. It was beastly hot by this point. Like Summer-time, really hot! Worse than Gravel Worlds had been this year. I didn't bother to look at my phone to check the weather then, but later on I found out it had reached the 90's! From 40° to over 90°! No wonder I was cooking! What a wild swing in temperatures. 

But the good news was that I had reached this end of the course by noon. I had 35 miles to go and five hours to get it done before my time limit! I must have been pushing it really hard on Reinbeck Road and not realized how hard I was going. I had bagged another 30 minutes since leaving La Porte City. Crazy! No wonder I felt cooked.

So, I came up with a plan. I needed to break this down into chunks. I decided I would go ten miles and rest. That meant I would have three chances to stop before the end. Okay, let's put this to bed then! 

Next: Part four, and the final chapter to the GTDR/ToBHC story.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 2

Stopped for a 'Nature Break'

 Now with the Sun up, there was that time which many call 'The Golden Hour' when you get that fantastic light for taking images. With zero cloud cover, I was snapping off pics like crazy. It was just too good not to be doing that. 

I also had to find a suitable place for a 'nature break'. Finally I found a secluded area once I got off the first stretch of pavement I had to insert into the route. While I don't like having to deal with traffic, I had gotten an early enough start that the paved roads were fairly desolate. 

At this point I was fairly concerned about making good time, so I quickly ate the half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I packed for myself, (one half of three halves), and I moved onward after a few minutes. It was still cold, and everything was covered in dew, so now my feet were soaked too. Great! Freezing feet and damp socks. Perfect! But there was nothing I could do about that except to get back on my horse and work again. 

Thousands of these migrating birds were everywhere around at one point on the route.

Just down the road from where I had stopped for my break, near the corner of Pace Road and East Gresham Road, I saw thousands of birds. I am not sure what kind they were. They sounded like red winged blackbirds, but I couldn't tell in the low angle of early morning light. At any rate, it was an amazing experience to see flocks numbering in the thousands as they flew all around me for the space of a half mile or so. 

Now I was working the route South and I knew the roads around here well. The gravel was better too, so I started to put more time in the bank. It wouldn't be long before I would get to Jesup and my first planned resupply stop of the day. 

This barn is worse off than last yer. It won't be there for long.

Another 'nature break' stop provided this view.

I made it to Jesup and stopped at the Casey's General Store there to resupply on water and grab something to eat. I ended up with a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese breakfast sandwich and water. I also snagged a bag of Dot's Pretzel sticks for the road later on down the line. I made pretty quick work of the stop and was out of there in less than ten minutes. 

Then it was a big section of pavement to get to Spring Creek Road, which itself was paved for a couple of miles before it went to gravel. Spring Creek Road would get me down to where I had to cross Interstate 380 on pavement, which just so happened to be on the Black Hawk/Buchanan County line.

People that leave heaters on the ledges outside of convenience stores- Stop it already!

The Shady Grove store on Spring Creek Road

I decided to take the "Northerly Route" once I had the East side of Black Hawk County traversed instead of taking road out into Buchanan County which was paved. Then I would have had a gravel South to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and I would have then gone Westward to La Porte City. Instead, I went down the paved portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan Road till it went left and I continued straight on the gravel portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan until I reached the intersection with McChane Road and thus ended my Southward crossing of Black Hawk County. 

These semi-tractor trailers were off-loading freshly picked corn. The harvest has started!

A roadside marker on Black Hawk/Buchanan Road

So by now the Sun was fully up and it was much warmer than it had been. I was thinking of stopping to get off my vest but I was so near to La Porte City that I just wanted to get the section over with and deal with all the clothing swapping out there. This would also bring up the next, and final, resupply chance, but I wasn't blasting through the water and I probably wouldn't need any by the time I reached town, a mere 22 miles down the road. 

Next: The South border traverse on my GTDR/ToBHC in Part 3

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 2

Stopped for a 'Nature Break'

 Now with the Sun up, there was that time which many call 'The Golden Hour' when you get that fantastic light for taking images. With zero cloud cover, I was snapping off pics like crazy. It was just too good not to be doing that. 

I also had to find a suitable place for a 'nature break'. Finally I found a secluded area once I got off the first stretch of pavement I had to insert into the route. While I don't like having to deal with traffic, I had gotten an early enough start that the paved roads were fairly desolate. 

At this point I was fairly concerned about making good time, so I quickly ate the half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I packed for myself, (one half of three halves), and I moved onward after a few minutes. It was still cold, and everything was covered in dew, so now my feet were soaked too. Great! Freezing feet and damp socks. Perfect! But there was nothing I could do about that except to get back on my horse and work again. 

Thousands of these migrating birds were everywhere around at one point on the route.

Just down the road from where I had stopped for my break, near the corner of Pace Road and East Gresham Road, I saw thousands of birds. I am not sure what kind they were. They sounded like red winged blackbirds, but I couldn't tell in the low angle of early morning light. At any rate, it was an amazing experience to see flocks numbering in the thousands as they flew all around me for the space of a half mile or so. 

Now I was working the route South and I knew the roads around here well. The gravel was better too, so I started to put more time in the bank. It wouldn't be long before I would get to Jesup and my first planned resupply stop of the day. 

This barn is worse off than last yer. It won't be there for long.

Another 'nature break' stop provided this view.

I made it to Jesup and stopped at the Casey's General Store there to resupply on water and grab something to eat. I ended up with a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese breakfast sandwich and water. I also snagged a bag of Dot's Pretzel sticks for the road later on down the line. I made pretty quick work of the stop and was out of there in less than ten minutes. 

Then it was a big section of pavement to get to Spring Creek Road, which itself was paved for a couple of miles before it went to gravel. Spring Creek Road would get me down to where I had to cross Interstate 380 on pavement, which just so happened to be on the Black Hawk/Buchanan County line.

People that leave heaters on the ledges outside of convenience stores- Stop it already!

The Shady Grove store on Spring Creek Road

I decided to take the "Northerly Route" once I had the East side of Black Hawk County traversed instead of taking road out into Buchanan County which was paved. Then I would have had a gravel South to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and I would have then gone Westward to La Porte City. Instead, I went down the paved portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan Road till it went left and I continued straight on the gravel portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan until I reached the intersection with McChane Road and thus ended my Southward crossing of Black Hawk County. 

These semi-tractor trailers were off-loading freshly picked corn. The harvest has started!

A roadside marker on Black Hawk/Buchanan Road

So by now the Sun was fully up and it was much warmer than it had been. I was thinking of stopping to get off my vest but I was so near to La Porte City that I just wanted to get the section over with and deal with all the clothing swapping out there. This would also bring up the next, and final, resupply chance, but I wasn't blasting through the water and I probably wouldn't need any by the time I reached town, a mere 22 miles down the road. 

Next: The South border traverse on my GTDR/ToBHC in Part 3